Nigeria is a country with diverse challenges; some of the challenges include corruption, bad leadership, lack of basic amenities, poor educational system, infrastructural decadence, high population of unemployed youths, epileptic power supply and so many others. A wise man once said that “good times create weak people, weak people create bad times. Bad times create strong people”. The bad times in Nigeria has pushed so many Nigerians to take responsibility of their own lives and become an entrepreneur; that is why the informal sector of the Nigerian economy is very vibrant.
Sports betting a business is one of so many businesses that young Nigerians have ventured into in their quest of becoming self-reliant. Sport betting in the real sense is for recreation. In developed countries in Europe and other parts of the world, sport betting is a medium of having fun and supporting local sports teams. It has its downside because some sports betting companies have been accused of match fixing, this takes the ‘anything can happen” spirit of the game.
To start the sports betting business the following is required;
- Business Model
- Business proposal
- Start-up capital
- Sport book provider for Nigerian market
- Other third party software providers
- License
- Office
- Competent and experienced staff
- Marketing Strategy/ Marketing
Business model: The sports betting industry in Nigeria is made up of retail and online.
Retail: Retail is the brick-and-mortar arm of sports betting. It means that you need a shop where customers can come to place bets on sports betting and virtual games. In retail shops, customers give their betting predictions and stake to a cashier who in return gives them a coupon/ bet slip that states all their predictions and it will be used to claim their prize if they get all the predictions right.
Online: Online sports betting involves customers who register directly on the website of the sports betting company, make deposits, place bets, and make withdrawals when they win. This set of customers can be referred to the company through an affiliate who posts the company banners on their websites with an affiliate link; the affiliates get commissions for customers they refer.
Some companies only operate in the online space, some operate online and retail while some are predominantly retail, they have websites that customers can register through but they pay little attention to the online market. Before the business kicks off officially, a decision about the operational structure has to be made. The management of the business need to decide if they want to operate online alone, concentrate more on retail or both. This will influence the management’s decision about staff strength, marketing strategy, target audience…etc.
Business proposal: A business proposal spells out what is needed to start the company, how the company intends to operate, marketing strategy, financials, revenue projections…etc. A business proposal helps potential investors decide if they want to invest in the business venture or not.
Startup Capital: A lot of businesses die in infancy and one of the major reasons this happens is because they run out of money. The startups management team must make provision cash flow until the business is self-sustaining. From the business proposal forecast, the break-even point of the business can be determined, this information can guide the management of the business on how the amount needed to fund the business till its revenue and expenses hit the breakeven point. Funds should also be made available for contingencies.
To be continued…
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